They invited Ibrahim to join the uprising...

They invited Ibrahim to join the uprising, and he agreed, provided he was made commander. However, the Kufan nobles reminded him that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya had already entrusted leadership to al-Mukhtar. Al-Mukhtar personally met with Ibrahim, presenting a letter he claimed was from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, urging Ibrahim to join the uprising against the Umayyads. The letter aimed to solidify Ibrahim’s commitment and alliance with al-Mukhtar to avenge the martyrs of Karbala [6] .

At first, Ibrahim hesitated to believe that the letter was genuinely from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, noting an inconsistency in its writing [7] . However, his doubts were assuaged when individuals such as Yazid ibn Anas al-Asadi, Ahmar b. Shumayt al-Bajali, and ‘Abd Allah ibn Kamil al-Shakiri testified that they had personally witnessed Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya authoring the letter addressed to Ibrahim [8] .

Trusting their testimonies, Ibrahim accepted the invitation to join the uprising and pledged his allegiance to al-Mukhtar. Al-Shaʿbi, a key figure in Ibrahim’s alliance with al-Mukhtar, questioned the authenticity of the letter attributed to Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya. After investigating, he learned from Kaysan, a witness, that their belief in the letter’s origin relied on their trust in al-Mukhtar’s credibility [9] .

The Uprising of al-Mukhtar Hence, Ibrahim and al-Mukhtar agreed to initiate the uprising in Kufa in the first half of Rabi’ I, 66/685, but they later postponed the beginning of the uprising to the first Thursday after the first half of the same month [10] . Following this battle, al-Mukhtar established himself in Kufa and focused on consolidating his authority over other cities in Iraq, aiming to confront the Umayyads and avenge the killers of Imam al-Husain (a.s).

To expand his campaign, he appointed Ibrahim as governor of Mosul and tasked him with leading a military expedition against ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad, who had been dispatched to Iraq by ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwan in Dhu l-Hijja 66 AH (July 686 CE). However, while Ibrahim was away, some prominent figures among the nobles of Kufa, who accused al-Mukhtar of deception and falsehood, staged a rebellion against his rule.

Al-Mukhtar swiftly acted by sending a messenger to recall Ibrahim from his mission [11] . Responding promptly, Ibrahim returned from Mada’in, and together with al-Mukhtar, they successfully crushed the insurrection after engaging in several fierce battles [12] .